Melody
by cherrynolanii
Summary: Mizuki and Rokna are sisters, but were separated at an early age, and have no memory of each other. On Mizuki's 20th birthday, both of them suddenly end up on Gaia, how and why being a total mystery. Now they must find their way back to reality. KujaxOC
1. Ch1 Awakening

**Author's notes: Right, so this is my firstever attempt on an actually readable fanfic. Its first chapter might not be very clear right now, but it's more or less just a small introduction. Each chapter will start out with a random quote as well. ('cause I love quotes xD) Leave a review if you feel like it. n_n  
**

**Disclaimer: I don't own FFIX, or any of their characters, nor their storyline, nor..anything else. I also don't own the quotes at the beginning of each chapter. What I do own are my own two OC's, Mizuki and Rockna, but that's it. **

**Awakening**

"_I think the truly natural things are dreams, which nature can't touch with decay."_

As Rokna opened her eyes, she groaned from the stinging headache she had. Raindrops were falling on her face, which only added to her headache because it confused her.

**'Why would I have fallen asleep outside? That's nuts…'**

Not too far away from her, she could hear the clashing of metal. She immediately shot up, wondering where the sound was coming from. Not too far from where she had been sleeping just now, a blonde boy was fighting against a female warrior. There were three people accompanying the blonde boy: the first was a young boy with a pointy hat, the second a woman, who, from what Rockna could see, had a rat face. The third, well, she couldn't tell for sure, aside from the part where he had an enormous tongue sticking out of his mouth the whole time. She had to stifle a small chuckle at the thought of being around someone like that all the time. Looking around where she was, realization soon struck her: the design, the people she saw, they all looked too familiar. "You've got to be kidding me…" she muttered, thinking for a moment.

_~Melody~_

"I must thank you again for your assistance, miss…" the knight in front of her stopped talking, realizing he didn't know the girl's name, and Mizuki stared at him. "Mizuki…it's Mizuki, but I…eh, I didn't really did that much, now did I?"

The knight quickly shook his head. "Without your magic, we surely would've had a much more difficult time fighting this…creature!"

Mizuki scratched the back of her head. "I don't even know how I did that…all I did was point my…staff…towards him, and that fireball just shot out."

"Surely miss Mizuki, you must have practiced magic before! You're definitely a great mage like Master Vivi!" **'Master Vivi?'** Mizuki thought, a feeling of familiarity shooting through her.

"Captain Adelbert Steiner! Give the girl a rest!" the girl next to him demanded; Mizuki was sure she'd recognized the girl, but she'd recognized her as the princess of a game she always played.

"Yeah, Rusty. She's just been fighting to save you and you thank her by not giving her any rest!" The third person of the group that Mizuki had just been running into was a guy with a red bandana. "Either way, Dagger, we must be on our way to Treno now."

'**Treno…these people…Final Fantasy IX?'** That's when the realization hit Mizuki, and without any further notice, she fainted.


	2. Ch2 Burmecia

**Author's notes: Right, chapter two is here. n_n First of all, a big thanks to my first reviewers: Graceful-Kuja, Rowbeesawa and Alexandria Volturi. I really appreciate it. ^^ Secondly, this chapter is a lil bit longer than my first chapter, but still small lol. The chapters will get bigger later on, though. :3 I will try to update daily, at least while I can.  
**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything, and I don't suppose I ever will~**

**Enjoy :D  
**

_**Burmecia**_

"_The Realm of Eternal Rain"_

"This has to be a dream…", Rokna muttered as she stood, taking in everything around her. It looked like the abandoned palace from Burmecia; she'd recognized it from her favorite game. She had been sleeping behind one of the pillars, from what she could see. **'Why am I here..? No, better question…how did I get here to begin with? Is this a dream?' **It didn't feel like a dream to her, the cold raindrops on her skin felt all too real.

Her eyes moved back to the battle between the blonde boy and the female warrior. The other people had started to attack as well. Rokna remembered the events of Burmecia well; the female warrior, General Beatrix, would wipe out the party with an attack, leaving them behind to head for Cleyra after that. Looking to the left of the battle, she noticed the presence of two more people; there was no doubt that one of them was Queen Brahne, anyone would recognize that look in an instant. She chuckled, the Queen must've been at least ten times uglier as the real deal than she did on a TV screen. The silver haired man next to her was also someone that wasn't difficult to recognize; the main villain of Final Fantasy IX, Kuja. **'I suppose it's best if I stay away from their battle…It's not like I can help anyway.'**

At that moment, Beatrix attacked the group with Stock Break, and Rokna watched as they fell on the floor. Queen Brahne and General Beatrix left soon after, and Rokna kept waiting behind the pillar until Kuja, too, had left on his Silver Dragon. Then she quickly moved to the party, and examined their wounds. "Damn…that looks bad", she muttered. A small bag caught her eyes as she looked for potions of some kind: the bag belonged to the blonde boy, Zidane. She rolled her eyes when she noticed it only had 4 potions left inside, but gave one to each of them. It wasn't much of a way to heal them, but it'd have to do for now, they would at least survive.

_~Melody~_

It took a while for the group to wake up, but Rokna greeted them with a smile when they did. Zidane looked at her in confusion. "Are you the one who healed our wounds?" he asked curiously, looking at her blue eyes.

Rokna scratched the back of her head for a moment, but then nodded. "Well…sort of, but I used your potions…" she muttered. "Glad to see they helped, though."

"But how did you get here to begin with?" the female with the rat face, Freya, asked.

"Trust me, that's one thing I'd like to figure out myself", Rokna replied. "Oh, my name is Rokna by the way."

"The name's Zidane. So uh, Rokna, are you single?" he grinned. Rokna raised an eyebrow; she could've expected a comment like that. "Oh, give me a break", she mused, grinning too.

"Now's not the time to flirt, Zidane", Freya mentioned. "My name is Freya, that's Vivi, and that's Quina", she pointed at Vivi and Quina and Rokna nodded.

"Right…" Zidane jumped up and stretched. "So what now, people? They said they were going to Cleyra."

"We have no choice! We must go to Cleyra, too!" Freya instantly replied. Rokna stifled a small chuckle at the idea of them following the exact script from Final Fantasy IX.

"I knew you'd say that! You coming, Vivi?" Zidane asked, looking over to the small mage. Vivi adjusted his hat as he looked at Zidane. "Um…do you think we'll learn more about those black mages if we go to Cleyra?"

Zidane nodded. "Yeah, I'd say we'll learn a lot about them as long as we follow Brahne and that Kuja guy."

"Then I'm with you!" Vivi said.

Quina suddenly jumped up. "Cleyra..? Sounds yummy. I go with you!" This time, Rokna did chuckle; she had always seen Quina as the comic relief kind of character.

"What about you, Rokna?" Zidane asked, his eyes shifting to her.

"Ehh…well, in all honesty, I don't know if I'd be of much help. You see, I don't have a weapon and I wouldn't know how to fight even if I'd be at the verge of death", she muttered in reply, rolling her eyes.

Zidane took out a dagger from his belt, and then handed it over to her with a smile. "I can teach you some basics. A dagger is easy to use because of its weight, you'll be a pro in no time. That is, if you want to, of course."

Rokna raised an eyebrow, but hesitantly took the dagger from him and examined it for a bit. It didn't seem that difficult to use in a battle, but she'd have to practice, and she knew there wasn't that much time.

"Zidane, are you sure about this? We should really head to Cleyra", Freya stated, and Rokna nodded in agreement. "She's right. I'd only hold you guys up."

"Come on, don't worry. Just tag along with us, you'll be fine, I promise!" Zidane replied. "Besides, we can't just leave you when you've just saved us. This way, I can repay the favor."

"I…suppose", Rokna muttered. "If that's really okay with you…"

"Of course it is!" Zidane said. "That's settled, then. Let's go, people!"_  
_


	3. Ch3 Treno

**Author's notes: Well then, it's been a while since I updated... So much stuff came in between so I just haven't found the time. Anyway, this chapter will introduce a new OC, male this time. =3 He will play an important role later.. -shrug-. I also realized I haven't described what Rokna and Mizuki look like yet~ Well, Mizuki kind of looks like Aqua from Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, and has a special weapon (sort of a combination between a rod and a wand), but more about that will be revealed later. n_n As for Rokna.. well, I'm going to have to upload an image of some sort later, because I'm a complete failure at describing the looks of my characters. ;3  
**

**Thanks again to my reviewers, and enjoy the next chapter. n_n**

**Disclaimer: No, I still don't own FFIX, I do own Mizuki, Rokna and my new OC, but that's about it *sigh*.  
**

_**Treno**_

"_The Dark City"_

"Miss Mizuki?" a voice called out, seemingly concerned. Mizuki groaned, but kept her eyes closed because of her stinging headache.

"Rusty, keep your voice down will you?" Marcus sneered at him.

"I will not take orders from some insolent thief!" Steiner sneered back at him, jumping up, which caused his armor to rattle. Mizuki groaned again from the noise they were making and then blinked a few times. "Geez, guys…do you really have to make such a ruckus?" she muttered, allowing her eyes to take in the sight when she finally managed to keep them opened.

"Miss Mizuki!" Steiner exclaimed. "I am so glad to see you're awake!"

"Yeah, I can hear that…" Mizuki groaned in reply. Looking around, she noticed that they were no longer at the place where they fought Black Waltz #3 earlier. It was already dark outside, too, and she was laying in a bed.

"Hey, just for how long have I been sleeping?" she asked.

"A few hours", Garnet answered.

"But it's already dark outside!" Mizuki replied.

"That's because we're already in Treno, miss Mizuki", Steiner stated.

"Treno?" Mizuki muttered. "Really?"

"Isn't that where you were going, too?" Marcus asked, and Mizuki nodded. "Well…yeah, somewhat.. But I didn't expect us to be here already." She jumped out of the bed and moved over to the window. The city seemed quite lively; it was much nicer to see it with her own eyes instead of on a TV screen.

"I'm going to explore the city a bit", she said after a while. "There's some things I want to see here."

"Miss Mizuki, it is dangerous to go outside by yourself", Steiner replied and Mizuki rolled her eyes. "I'm sure I can handle it."

**_~Melody~_**

Treno had always been one of Mizuki's favorite places in the game. She'd spend hours at the auction house just to get the items she wanted. Of course, when she arrived at the auction house this time, she had no gil at all to spend there. "Right, I forgot about that…" she muttered, thinking about the gil that she'd need to get her equipment. As she walked to sit down at one of the chairs, even if it was just to watch, one of the nobles sitting in the huge room knocked her off her feet. A chuckle filled the air as Mizuki fell flat on her face.

"Dammit, what the hell was that all about?" she hissed, jumping back on her feet and looking at the young man who had knocked her off her feet just now. He had black hair with some red bangs in between, but what caught Mizuki's attention was the blood red eyes he had. "Who the hell…?" She muttered.

He rolled his eyes. "What's a peasant like you doing in a place like this? You don't belong here."

"Say what?" Mizuki hissed back at him. "Who are you, anyway?"

A smirk formed across his face. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

The auctioneer threw them an annoyed glance. "If the two of you are going to make a ruckus, please leave. You're disturbing the auctions here."

The man continued to smirk, ignoring the auctioneer's comment. "Either way, if I were you… I wouldn't be going to Alexandria anytime soon with that rusty knight and his princess." He had lowered his voice, and Mizuki stared at him in disbelief. "How would you know that? Have you been spying on us?"

"You seem to have caught his interest", he mused, avoiding her question and eyeing to the balcony. Mizuki looked up to see two cold blue orbs staring at her, the owner keeping his glance on her.

When she turned back around, she noticed the man she'd just been talking to was gone. She turned around to the door and started walking, wondering if he'd just left the building: if he had, she'd be able to follow him.

**_~Melody~_**

Having quickened her pace, Mizuki had quickly made her way back to the inn they were staying in. She hadn't seen the man anywhere anymore, but that wasn't what concerned her. The silver haired man, the owner of those two cold blue orbs that were staring at her, he was the one who caught her attention even more. **'You seem to have caught his interest.'** The words wouldn't leave her mind, and she wondered what he'd meant. Her hand moved to the doorknob, but as she wanted to walk into the room, she heard yelling. "What do you mean, 'we're going to steal it'?" Steiner's voice echoed. Mizuki let out a sigh, and then walked in.

"Yeah, you don't think they'd just give it to us, right?" Marcus sneered back at him. "I didn't ask you guys to come with me in the first place!"

"When can we go?" Dagger asked.

"We can leave right away", Marcus replied. "Are you ready?" She nodded. "Let's go."

"Mind if I tag along, too?" Mizuki asked.

"Do whatever you want", Marcus said calmly and they walked out of the door; on their way to get the supersoft.

**_A/N: Right, so next chapter will still be following Mizuki, Marcus, Dagger & Steiner. ;3 Please leave a review if you have time. Any tips are welcome. ;3_**


	4. Ch4 Confusion

_**Author's notes: **_Hello everyone, it's been a while! A very...very long while. I haven't had time to write in a long while, I entered college which took up a major lot of my time. Summer break now though, so I'll have time to write.. (if anyone still reads this. ;P) The main reason I decided to update is because I got a fav on my story, and well, I figured I might as well continue writing now that I have time. :)

This chapter gives a little bit of information on Mizuki, and a bit of information about the young man she met in the previous chapter as well. So, enjoy. :D

_**Confusion**_

_"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them."_

The boat ride didn't take as long as it had seemed in the game, but Mizuki still got rather sick from having to get on the small ship. They had arrived at the place where, apparently, the supersoft was supposed to be.

"You must know that I am severely against this!" Steiner was jumping around so much that Mizuki was wondering how long it'd take before the nobles upstairs would wake up.

"Oi Rusty, calm down! You might wake up the nobles if you continue to jump like that!" Marcus sneered. Steiner's expression looked as if he could kill someone, and if glaring could do that, Marcus would've surely died at that moment.

"Alright, so how are we supposed to find the supersoft in this pile of boxes?" Steiner mumbled after a moment.

Marcus shrugged. "Just find it."

"Why you!" Steiner sneered in reply.

A noise from the stairs caught Mizuki's attention; it must've been one of the nobles that woke up from their yelling. She groaned. "Why must you two always fight with each other? Can't you just, like, shut up for a moment? We're here for a reason, remember?" rolling her eyes, she moved behind a barrel in the room. She wondered why there were any barrels in the room, anyway, although she thought it was because this room was just a storage place for the shop above them. Marcus and Steiner soon noticed what she was doing, and moved behind some crates as well. Dagger hid under a table.

**~Melody~**

A short man moved down the stairs and the first thing that Mizuki noticed were the small glasses that he was wearing. **'A scholar?' **she thought. The man let out a sigh. "Oh, I can't believe I ran out of ink on a night like this. I must find more ink and go back to the observatory…"

Marcus looked at Mizuki for a moment. "Should I take care of him?" he whispered. Mizuki was about to nod when she heard Dagger's soft voice from under the table. "Wait…"

"Princess, no!" Steiner whispered, but Dagger moved away from the table and ran in front of the short man.

"Hmm?" the short man looked at Dagger in surprise. She remained quiet and awaited his response, when he suddenly jumped up. "You…you're!"

"I've missed you, Doctor Tot!" Dagger replied to him.

"P…princess! Princess Garnet!" the short man replied in surprise.

"Doctor Tot?" Steiner muttered, moving away from the crate he was behind as well. Marcus stared at him. "You know him?"

"Doctor Tot is the highly respected scholar who tutored the princess", Steiner answered.

"Ah, Master Steiner. You must be quiet, or you will wake the shopkeeper. But, princess, what on earth are you doing here?" Tot asked.

"It's a long story", Mizuki stated as she moved away from the barrels. "Sir…uh, Doctor Tot. We are currently looking for a supersoft."

"There is a proper reason for this! We are not here to steal, or commit any form of crime…" Steiner started, but Mizuki hissed a quick "Rusty!" at him and he stopped talking.

A new voice caught Mizuki's attention. "Is somebody down there?"

"Run along! I will give you the supersoft later. Go left from the Treno entrance, and continue until you find a large tower. The tower is my home, but I shall unlock it and await your arrival", Tot said. Mizuki and Dagger both nodded a quick 'thank you' at him, and then they left.

**~Melody~**

The tower was huge, and it was a lot bigger than Mizuki had expected. As Tot had already told them, the door to the tower was unlocked and they decided to go in.

When they moved to the top of the tower, Tot was already waiting for them.

"Princess! Thank you for coming. Welcome to my humble abode", he said, pushing his glasses back on his nose.

"This is your home?" Dagger asked.

"I traveled quite far in search of a sponsor for my research after I departed Alexandria. I finally found one here in Treno", Tot explained. "You have grown into a fine young woman. I am pleased to see you again."

"Tot! You look quite well!" Steiner mentioned.

"Ah, Master Steiner! Are you escorting the princess?" Tot asked.

"Yes, sir! I deeply regret my earlier actions!" Steiner replied.

"Still a straight arrow, aren't you? I'm sure you had your reasons, but I won't ask why", Tot said calmly. "The supersoft is in the box right there. Please take it."

"Don't mind if I do!" Marcus said and walked to the box. Mizuki let out a sigh as Steiner started yelling at him again. "Have you got no manners? Thank the good doctor!"

"It's quite alright.. master Steiner", Tot said.

Mizuki walked to the globe in the room. "So this is what Gaia actually looks like, huh?" she wondered out loud. She had never actually seen a globe this big, and especially not of a world she'd never been to before.

"Yes, miss…this is indeed a globe of our planet, Gaia", Tot said.

"I remember your lessons, Doctor Tot", Dagger said with a smile.

Tot chuckled. "You remember the ramblings of an old fool…"

"How long has it been? Eight years?" Dagger asked. Even though Mizuki was looking at the globe of Gaia, which was, apparently, broken at some places, she was still paying attention to the conversation.

"Time passes quickly. But I haven't changed. I continue to collect and research these items", Tot said calmly.

"Where did you find this globe?" Dagger asked him. He pushed his glasses back on his nose again. Mizuki chuckled at the question that popped into her mind; just how often a day did he do that?

"It's an antique. It's broken, as you can see, but I use it as an observatory deck. Ironic, isn't it? I look at the stars from inside a globe", Tot explained.

"It sure is.." Dagger muttered.

"I don't mean to meddle in your affairs, but… I am on your side, now and forever. Please tell me if there is anything I can do", Tot said to Dagger.

"Is there a way you can get us to Alexandria?" Mizuki asked. Even though she already knew about his secret passageway, she didn't want to show that she did. Before Tot could answer to this question, Dagger started explaining what had been going on.

"So the queen's forces have already grown quite powerful…Okay, then. It may be dangerous, but I will see that you will get to Alexandria", Tot said after listening to Dagger's story. "Perhaps you should all get some rest before you go, there could be monsters."

"Nothing we can't handle", Mizuki muttered. "We're running out of time, Doctor Tot. We must go to Alexandria as quickly as possible."

"Very well then", Doctor Tot said as he opened the passageway. "There is a gargant down here that can bring you to Alexandria."

"Thank you very much, Tot!" Dagger bowed slightly.

They went down to Gargant Roo, and Mizuki instantly raised an eyebrow as she did. "Oh, you weren't kidding when you said there are monsters down here…" she muttered in annoyance, instantly summoning her weapon. "Fire!" She grinned when she killed the monster in just a single blow.

"Just pull the lever and the gargant should be here soon, it will bring you all the way to Alexandria", Doctor Tot stated.

"Let us go then…" Mizuki said.

"Actually, miss Mizuki…I have a request to make", Tot started. "Please stay behind a little longer, it's important that I talk to you."

"Me?" Mizuki mused. "I suppose that's alright.."

"We will wait for your return, miss Mizuki", Steiner said, but Mizuki shook her head. "Oh no, please don't. Both the queen and Blank are waiting."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Marcus stated calmly. Mizuki smiled at them one last time before heading back with Tot.

**~Melody~**

"So what is it that you wanted to discuss with me?" Mizuki asked.

"That weapon you summoned earlier…I would like to see it again", Doctor Tot replied.

Mizuki raised an eyebrow. "My staff?" She summoned her weapon and Doctor Tot looked at it in surprise.

"So it is indeed the Twilight Bell. Where did a peasant like you get such a weapon?" At that moment, Mizuki noticed the change in his voice. "You're not Doctor Tot…who are you?" she snapped at him.

A swirl of dark lights appeared in front of her and the appearance of the fake Tot changed into that of the young man Mizuki had met earlier. She raised an eyebrow. "You? You're a shapeshifter? Where is the real Doctor Tot?"

"Don't worry, I just knocked him out. He'll come back here later without knowing we were here", the young man replied with a grin. "Don't misunderstand, peasant girl. I'm a demon, not a shapeshifter. I did, however, take a shapeshifter's power in the past."

"Okay, so why did you pretend to be Doctor Tot, then? What is the meaning behind showing Dagger and Steiner that passageway…and why didn't you let me go along with them?" Mizuki asked.

"Geez, you sure like asking questions, don't you?" he replied. "I was merely following orders…or helping out a friend, whatever you wish to call it." He grinned at her last question. "Because, miss Avanquilist, he's interested in you. I can't let you die there like the rest of them."

Mizuki rolled her eyes. "I am so confused…I can't take in so much stuff all at once!"

"Well, you're the one that asked so many questions", he retorted and she rolled her eyes. "Point taken…" she muttered. "Alright…one question at a time then. Who are you?"

"What makes you think I'll answer?" he said calmly.

"If you want that question bomb to end today, I'd answer", Mizuki answered with a grin.

He let out a sigh. "Eye for an eye. If I answer your questions, I want an answer to mine, too."

"Fine", Mizuki hissed.

"My name is Rikazu", he answered. "You're not from Gaia, are you?"

"Well, at least you're getting straight to the point…" Mizuki muttered. "No, I'm not from Gaia. How do you know?"

"Because the Avanquilist race doesn't exist on Gaia anymore", Rikazu said calmly. "And to answer your next question, because I know you're going to ask it…An Avanquilist is a mage who can master **any** type of magic, including summoning magic. They can combine a lot of different types of magic into one single spell. It's quite fascinating, really."

Mizuki blinked a few times, wondering if he was being serious or not. "Dude, isn't that just a regular red mage? I can only use black magic, and even that I can only use barely."

"No, you see…red mages have restrictions on how far they can go with their magic. An Avanquilist can master **anything** she wants. The people on Gaia thought they were dangerous and since the only Avanquilists lived in Madain Sari, they got destroyed along with the summoner tribe", Rikazu stated. "One of them fled to the Earth, along with her daughter."

"How do you know all this?" Mizuki asked, still as confused as ever. Her head was starting to pound and any answer she got from this man only raised more questions.

He grinned at her. "Now, now. I think I've answered enough questions. You're going to come with me know, I can't let him wait much longer, now can I?" He reached out his hand to grab her arm, but she backed away. **'I really don't want to find out who he was talking about…I have to either get to Alexandria or find out where Zidane and his group are right now…probably headed for Cleyra…I can't go with this demon guy, there's too much I still have to do…'** she thought. She closed her eyes, waiting until he'd grab her arm and drag her along to whatever place he had in mind, but it didn't happen. Instead, she heard birds chirping softly and she opened her eyes, only to find out she was at a completely different place. It was light outside and on top of that, there was a sandstorm surrounding the area where she was at.

"You're kidding…I just teleported to Cleyra?" she muttered. "Great…now what?"

**~Melody~**

**A/N: **Well then, please review if you have time. :3 Reviews will make me want to write more because then I know people actually read the story. :)


	5. Ch5 Memory

_****__******Author's notes: Ohdear, it's been forever since I last updated. To everyone who has been waiting all this time: I'm so sorry! I've been so busy with college stuff that I've barely even had time to write, read, game or anything else I love to do. Now, I have to reawaken some of my inspiration for this story.. but I'll do my best! Leave a review if you feel like it.** :)_  


_**Memory**_

"_The Mind's Illusion."_

"How much further is it?" Rokna mused. Zidane sighed. "It should be…right about here…"

"But I don't see anything?" Rokna replied. It was true, there was nothing in the area except for a lot of mist.

"Zidane, can you hand me the map?" Freya asked. They should have been at least seeing the sandstorm that's protecting Cleyra right now. Zidane handed her the map and Freya raised an eyebrow. "…Have you been holding it like this the whole time?"

"Yeah, why?" Zidane asked, surprised by Freya's question.

"Because you were holding it upside down", Rokna rolled her eyes at the comment Freya made. "Well, that explains a lot…So how far away from Cleyra are we, then?"

"About a day, if we're lucky", Freya answered, then looked at Vivi and Quina. Vivi seemed pretty tired already and Quina was just…well, being Quina, looking for food everywhere.

"D…do you think we could rest a bit?" Vivi asked.

Rokna smiled. "I think that's a good idea, we've been walking for quite a while now."

"Alright, but only for a little while", Freya said. "We have to get to Cleyra as soon as possible and we're already way behind on schedule." She shot a quick glare at Zidane and he just smiled apologetically.

**~Melody~**

"You let her escape?" Kuja asked, slightly annoyed about Rikazu's non-caring attitude. Rikazu just rolled his eyes. "Don't misunderstand, I didn't 'let her escape', as you call it. She just…managed to teleport away."

"So you let her escape", he sneered in reply.

"I don't have time to play hide and seek with a _wannabe_ mage", Rikazu muttered. "She teleported all the way to Cleyra, you know. That's Cleyra we're talking about, with the annoying sandstorm."

"Cleyra will be eliminated soon", Kuja said. "That Elephant Lady is most likely on her way there now."

"So what about that other girl? She's still out on the fields, can't I just go after her instead?" Rikazu raised an eyebrow, but Kuja just shook his head. "Go to Cleyra."

Rikazu rolled his eyes once more. "Didn't you hear me? I don't want to get showered with sand. Do it yourself."

"You're the one who let her escape", Kuja snarled at him. "Besides…that sandstorm won't be much of a problem, anyway. It shouldn't last much longer."

"Alright…I get it. I'll go there in the morning", Rikazu groaned.

**~Melody~**

_A fireball was shot at her, making her fly a few feet backwards. Her vision was hazed as she looked at the black haired man in front of her, his blood red eyes sending shivers of fear down her spine every time she looked at him. "The curse of the Hikari family will end with your death", she could only barely hear him speak as she blacked out. _

"_Are you alright? Wake up already", a male voice mused, almost demanding. Mizuki could only vaguely hear him. A warm and soothing feeling welcomed her from her slumber and she slowly opened her eyes, looking into the dark blue eyes of a silver haired man. _

"_You awake now? I've been casting healing spells on you for at least half an hour", he stated._

"_Healing spells..? You did…? __So that feeling just now…" Mizuki muttered, a slight blush creeping on her face._

"_Was a curaga spell", the man replied. "My name is Kuja, and you are…?"_

"_Having quite a headache…" Mizuki muttered in reply, her head still hurting from the events earlier. She had suddenly ended up in an unfamiliar place, was attacked by an unfamiliar man and then healed by another man. Everything she recalled just added to her confusion. "Thank you…for helping me", she then whispered. _

"_Don't get me wrong", he snarled at her in reply. "Rikazu and I are on the same side, I just can't have you die yet. I'll need that power of yours sooner or later, but for now it's best if you don't remember anything of what happened."_

At that moment, Mizuki sat up straight in her bed, her eyes wide opened. Realization struck her as she recalled what she had just seen in her dream. It wasn't just any dream; it was a memory of when she had first arrived at Gaia. The man at the balcony in Treno, the man who was interested in her, she had met him when she first arrived. He had saved her, for a reason she had yet to understand, from the other man she had already ran into earlier. **'I'll need that power of yours'**, the words echoed through her mind. _What _power? As far as she could recall, all she could use right now was black magic. At least a day had passed since she had teleported to Cleyra, and she still felt drained from her power after teleporting such a distance. A sudden loud voice shook her from her thoughts and she opened the door of her room to hear what was going on. "You heard me, rat. A human girl should have arrived here last night, and I need to know where she is!" She recognized this voice; it was the voice of the demon she had met earlier, Rikazu.

"Like I said, I don't know anything about a human girl arriving here! I wasn't here last night!"

"Then find out!" Rikazu sneered in reply. "I know she's here somewhere!"

**~Melody~**

"Well then, here we are at last, this is Cleyra", Freya mentioned as they had arrived at the top of the trunk.

"Alright! I can sleep in a normal bed tonight, no more tents!" Rokna exclaimed happily. "But first…let's go do some exploring, shall we?"

"Sure, I'll go with you. What about you, Vivi?" Zidane wondered. Vivi shook his head, adjusting his hat a little. "You two go on ahead, I'll go do some exploring on my own first."

Never could they have known, disaster would struck sooner than they had anticipated.


	6. Ch6 Fear of the Dark

**_Author's notes:_ Geez, I really take forever updating these days. I'm sorry, I just lost my inspiration for this story for a really long time. But it's back now, to a certain degree, and I've decided to give my own plot a twist. Well, I hope you guys enjoy reading anyway. :)**

* * *

_**Fear of the Dark**_

"_I fear who I am becoming."_

"I-I can't help you, I'm sorry", the innkeeper was seemingly frightened. A fireball appeared in Rikazu's hand as he looked at the innkeeper. "Are you sure?"

"He said he can't help you, didn't he? Now will you please move aside, I want to book a room before I go out to explore the city", the sudden female voice made him turn around to the door and the fireball in his hand disappeared. Mizuki was surprised by the sudden new voice as well and decided to move a bit more to the stairs to see who it was. The girl she saw gave her a feeling of familiarity, but she couldn't place it and so she shrugged it off quickly.

"Oh by all means, go right ahead", Rikazu replied, stepping aside. "I'll just go upstairs and look for her myself, then." Mizuki stepped back at hearing this and moved back to her room, locking the door behind her. She paced around the room, wondering what she could do. Her magic was still drained from teleporting. The window wasn't an option either; unless she wanted to fall to her death, or at least break a couple of bones. She could hear the footsteps on the stairs already and conjured up her staff.

"I know you're in here somewhere. Just come out and no one has to get hurt", he groaned. Mizuki decided that her only chance would be to break down her own door with a fireball, and use the smoke as a cover to run. It was a long shot, that was for sure, but it was all she could think of.

"Here goes nothing…" she whispered under her breath as her fireball hit the door. She ran down the stairs and then saw the girl who had just been talking to Rikazu and was now talking to the innkeeper. Their eyes met for only a moment before Mizuki continued to run for the door. Just when she had reached it, she felt someone grabbing her wrist harshly and she was pulled backwards. She turned around to see Rikazu grinning at her. "Did you really think that would help you any?"

"Let go of me!" she hissed in reply.

"I could do that, but then he'd get mad at me again", Rikazu replied. "You've already given me enough trouble. We're leaving, _now_."

"It's Kuja, isn't it?" Mizuki asked. "And didn't you want me dead? I don't understand any of this!"

"I _do_ want you dead, but he's interested in you", Rikazu groaned. "So I can't kill you…_yet._"

"Did you just say Kuja?" the girl they just saw suddenly asked.

"Do you always eavesdrop on conversations?" Rikazu asked her and she chuckled. "When people talk so loud, I don't see why not."

"You know Kuja?" Mizuki asked her. The girl shook her head. "Well, I don't _know_ him, but I've heard of him."

Rikazu smirked. "_Oh_, you're _that_ girl. Rokna, was it? Now things should be getting interesting."

"How do you know my name?" the girl asked him.

"Yeah, really…what are you, a stalker or something?" Mizuki asked, looking at Rikazu. "It kind of creeps me out that you know her and that you knew me already, yet we never saw you before."

"That sounds kind of hypocrite, coming from someone who already knows a lot about some people here without meeting them", Rikazu retorted.

"Fair enough…" Mizuki muttered under her breath. Rokna looked at her in confusion. "Wait, you too? Are you…"

"Ding, you catch on quick", Rikazu chuckled. His voice lowered. "Both of you came here from Earth, which makes both of you interesting. You know what's supposed to happen in this world, we can make use of that."

"I won't tell you anything, I won't help you!" Mizuki sneered, trying to pull her wrist away, but his grip only tightened.

"Oh you will", Rikazu replied. "Now, I've probably stalled enough time…the Alexandrian army should be here by now."

"Odin…" Rokna muttered. "We need to find Zidane and get everyone out of here, now!" She grabbed the dagger Zidane had given to her before and looked at Rikazu. "Let her go."

"No can do", Rikazu replied. Mizuki quickly created a fireball in her hand and pushed her hand towards him, but it didn't do much.

"Fire is my main element, girl. You'll have to do better than that", Rikazu said to her. His eyes then moved back to Rokna. "If you want her by your side to help you survive in this world, get stronger. You'll have to find a way to keep her out of Kuja's grasp; you're in no position of doing that right now."

The two of them then disappeared, leaving a confused Rokna behind.

* * *

"Bring me back to Cleyra!" Mizuki hissed. She was in an unfamiliar room, but she could tell she had to be inside an airship. The room had a few windows from which she could see the sky.

"Why? So that you can die there? Go ahead and jump right off the airship, then", Rikazu responded. "Cleyra will be obliterated; there is nothing you can do to stop that."

"I can at least try!" she said in reply. Rikazu rolled his eyes. "Great, we picked up a girl with a death wish."

"It's better than being stuck here", she sneered. Rikazu sighed in reply. "What is it that you want to do in this world? Are you really going to try and play hero?"

Mizuki was taken aback by this question. "Well what about you then? You don't come from this world either, do you? Why did you team up with Kuja?"

"All in due time, girl", Rikazu answered.

The door opened, revealing the silver-haired man Mizuki had seen in Treno. She stepped back on instinct, but kept her eyes on him as the flashbacks of what she'd seen in her dreams returned once more. "You…I've seen you before…"

Rikazu rolled his eyes. "You saw him in Treno just yesterday; of course you've seen him before."

"No…the day I first got here, he saved my life", Mizuki responded, her eyes moving from Kuja to Rikazu. "He saved me from _you_! Why did you try to kill me, anyway? And what's this curse you mentioned?"

"You…remember already?" Kuja wondered out loud.

"Why don't we show her what I meant with the curse?" Rikazu said with a smirk.

"You've done quite enough, Rikazu. I'll take it from here", Kuja sneered. He could not risk Rikazu activating the girl's curse; he had to do that himself.

"Oh come on, don't be like that. I'm the one who found her", Rikazu groaned.

"I said you've done enough. Do not question me, Rikazu", Kuja responded, and then moved to Mizuki.

"Fine, I'll wait outside. Hurry up, will ya", Rikazu sneered and then left, closing the door behind him.

"Stay away from me!" she hissed as Kuja moved closer, a fireball appearing in her hand. "What do you want?!" He grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her towards him, ignoring the fireball completely, as if it didn't exist.

"You see, girl, the curse of the Hikari family gives them magical powers that are by far superior to normal mages. The thing is; their powers are often too strong for their body to handle, so most of them die at a young age. Those who do survive, need to have a pact with another strong mage to control their power", he explained.

"What do you mean?" Mizuki said, her voice shaking from a sudden feeling of fear.

"Your powers will grow stronger over time, but you won't be able to control them. Just like that fireball in your hand right now", Kuja responded. "I'll make a pact with you." She turned her head to look at the fireball, only to realize that he was correct. She had tried to make it grow larger than before to free herself from his grasp, but instead of hurting him, the fireball had just disappeared. She looked back at him, confusion still showing in her eyes. "Let me go! I know another strong mage who would be happy to make a pact with me", she hissed.

"But you wouldn't want to hurt your friend, now would you? The only ones currently strong enough to make a pact with you are Rikazu and me", Kuja said calmly. "You should be grateful that I'm willing to make a pact with you, it will save your life in this world."

"And you're obviously willing to save people", she responded in return. "But…alright, fine…I'll make a pact with you." As she said that, a light started to surround the two of them, and Kuja pressed a kiss on her lips faster than she could realize it. The light soon faded, and when he let go of her, he noticed she was blushing madly. "W-what was that for?!" she yelled.

"To seal the pact…obviously", Kuja responded. "Come on now, we're going to see queen Brahne."

"And what makes you think I'll join you?" she snapped in return, but her feet were already moving forward.

"You don't have a choice, if you want to live that is. You see… I'm afraid I forgot to mention some details about the pact", Kuja said with a smirk. "Whether you like it or not, the magic of the pact, combined with my own spell, will force you to obey my wishes."

"You sneaky, deceitful bastard", Mizuki hissed. "I'll just break the pact right here then."

"No can do. The pact is everlasting, _until death tears us apart_", he responded. "So unless you have a death wish…"

"Sounds quite possible that I'll get one from this", she sneered in response.

Kuja picked up a chest from a table, one that looked strangely familiar to Mizuki, but she couldn't place it. The new magic flowing through her body left her in a haze. She followed him outside, the magic from the spell being too strong to fight it. Rikazu smirked upon seeing them. "So it worked, huh? Sounds like we just gained ourselves a very valuable ally."

"I am _not_ your ally!" Mizuki snapped. "I'll find a way to break this spell…just you wait."

"Go ahead and try…" Rikazu muttered.

As they continued moving, they noticed the queen was waiting impatiently for them to arrive.

"What took you so terribly long? I want to eliminate these rats once and for all!" she said, and then looked at Kuja. "Did you bring them?"

"Of course, your majesty. But before we use the gemstones, I would like to test this girl's powers, if I may", Kuja answered with a bow.

"Very well then, but if she fails to eliminate them, I will execute her in Alexandria", queen Brahne responded.

"She won't fail, I can assure you that", Kuja said. "Mizuki, I want _you_ to use Odin to destroy Cleyra, _now_."

"_Me_?! Are you crazy? No, I won't do it! Never!" she shook her head, but couldn't stop her body from moving as she summoned her staff and started conjuring the spell.

"Do it", he snapped. Tears rolled down her face as she finished conjuring, and she bit her lip trying to stop herself from saying the final words to the spell.

"_**Come forth, Odin, warrior of the dark!"**_

* * *

**_Author's notes:_Well, that's it for this chapter again. I'll _try _to update more frequently. Please review if you have the time, and as always, tips are welcome. :)**


	7. Ch7 Aftermath

**Author's notes: Well, I decided to throw in another chapter already, since I found a bit of inspiration again. At first I thought I'd wait a bit longer with updating this, but the review I got yesterday made me want to continue already. :) Enjoy!  
**

**Disclaimer: I forget this thing all the time, don't I? I still don't own FFIX, or any of its characters. I also don't own the quotes placed before every chapter. I do own my OCs, Rokna, Rikazu and Mizuki. **

_**Aftermath**_

"_No matter how dark the night, morning always comes."_

The results of Odin's assault had been as disastrous as the game had originally showed. Rokna had only barely made it to one of the teleporting pods before Odin wiped the entire place. They had tried to evacuate as many people as possible from Cleyra, but no one believed her when she tried to tell them Odin would attack. Eventually Zidane and Freya joined her in telling people to evacuate, but it had been too late. There was no way anyone would have made it down the trunk in that short amount of time.

"Geez…did you see that?" Zidane muttered.

"Cleyra…Puck…Quina…they're all gone", Vivi sniffled sadly, adjusting his hat a bit.

"Dammit…" Zidane said. "Oh! What about Beatrix? I bet she's on this ship somewhere…"

"Let's go check it out", Rokna said in a whisper. She and Zidane both made their way to the stairs, and soon beckoned Freya and Vivi to join them.

"Shh, someone's coming", Rokna whispered.

"Welcome back, General!" the soldier happily saluted Beatrix. Beatrix nodded to the soldier. "How is her majesty?"

"She has eagerly awaited your return. I am certain she will shower you with praise for our victory. Your supremacy is without question now. Steiner and his Knights of Pluto are nothing compared to you!" the soldier continued happily.

"That is enough!" Beatrix snapped.

"Forgive me, General", the soldier was seemingly shocked from her response.

"Tell her majesty that I'll report to her shortly", Beatrix responded. As the soldier walked off, she let out a sigh. "That was ridiculous…my troops alone would have been more than enough to take Cleyra. Why does the queen insist on using black mages and Eidolons? I didn't train all these years so I could take a backseat to anyone..." She let out another sigh as she watched three black mages walk away with another soldier.

"...There's no difference between them and me. We're all just blindly following orders. My heart and my will mean nothing... Maybe Steiner was right..."

"Did you hear that? It seems like Brahne is on this ship…" Zidane said. Rokna nodded. "It appears so, yes. Let's check out that cabin."

They made their way to the cabin, and Zidane looked inside.

"Can you see anything?" Freya asked, but Zidane shook his head. "It's too dark…"

"Beatrix!" a voice sounded, and Rokna pointed to the direction where the sound was coming from. "Well, I guess we found her…" Rokna then looked to the direction where she heard the conversation from, and noticed something she didn't expect; Mizuki, the girl she'd met in Cleyra earlier that day, was right there, holding a staff. She seemed to collapse soon after though, but was caught by a silver-haired man. **'Kuja? What's he doing here? He wasn't here at the game…'**

"It's not very nice to eavesdrop on other people's conversations, kids", Rokna recognized the voice and turned around. "You again…what are you doing here?"

* * *

"Ugh…my head…" Mizuki groaned as she tried to open her eyes. The fatigue was still pulling at her too much. "What happened…?"

"You summoned Odin and completely annihilated Cleyra, quite an amazing act, really", the voice that welcomed her from her sleep was Kuja's and she instantly opened her eyes. She was sitting up straight against a wall, and he stood close to her, watching her. Queen Brahne and General Beatrix were talking not far from where she was sitting.

"I…no…_**no**_!" she shook her head, her eyes filling with tears again. "Why did you do that to me…why did you have to force me to use Odin? I don't understand…you're powerful enough on your own!"

"I wanted to test your power, that's all. This was only the beginning, I have much more planned for you", he responded.

"No…I won't help you again. I'd rather die than to help you again!" she snapped, and then made her way to the door. She had to run away somehow, and she remembered the teleporting pods that would take her away from the airship. When she opened the door, however, the only thing that was waiting for her was another unpleasant surprise. Rikazu was right there in front of the door, facing the girl she'd met earlier, along with Zidane, Vivi and Freya.

"Well…shit", she muttered.

"Oh good, you're awake. Why don't you join me in fighting these guys?" Rikazu said with a smirk.

"Go die in a fire", Mizuki retorted.

"Told you she wouldn't team up with you", Rokna said with a smile.

"Who's she?" Zidane wondered.

"I travelled with Steiner, Marcus and Dagger for a while. My name is Mizuki", she responded. "Dagger is in danger, Zidane. You have to use the teleporting pods to get to Alexandria, hurry! She's going to be executed!"

"What did you just say?" Zidane said. "But first, this guy's gotta let us pass."

"Not happening", Rikazu sneered. "And you should help me out too, girl. Ugh, I should've made a pact with you myself." Mizuki eyed Rokna for a moment to tell her that this would be her chance to move away while she kept Rikazu busy.

"Don't even think about it, I'm not stupid enough to fall for the same thing twice", Mizuki hissed back at him, a slight blush crept on her face when she thought back to how the pact had been sealed.

"Heh…I thought he'd tricked you into it, he's clever enough to do that. Well, even if I wanted to make a pact with you, no can do. You can only have one pact…as it's supposed to form a bond between you and the mage you seal it with. That bond is what helps you control your powers, and makes both of you stronger. That's why most members of the Hikari family only form a bond with their soul mate", Rikazu said with a smirk.

"I guess I'm screwed then. I'll never form a bond with him", Mizuki responded. "And he doesn't strike me as the type to try and form a bond with me either."

"You say that but… then why are you still blushing like that?" he wondered. She crossed her arms and turned her back on him. "Shut up, you don't know anything. And I'm not blushing!" He chuckled. "Of course you aren't."

"And while you two were playing around, they've escaped", Kuja snapped, walking to them.

Rikazu groaned. "She tricked me…It's your own fault for not keeping her back in there with you."

"Stop making excuses and go after them. Miki, you're staying here", Kuja responded.

"Fine, fine", Rikazu muttered and then made his way for the teleporting pods.

"…Miki? It's Mizuki, not Miki", Mizuki hissed.

"It's my nickname for you since it's much shorter to say", Kuja responded with a smirk. "Isn't it nice to try and form a bond?"

"You were eavesdropping, weren't you? You heard me say that to Rikazu", she said.

"I'm sure we'd get along just fine if you'd just stop trying to fight the pact we made", Kuja said calmly. Mizuki shook her head. "You forced me into a pact that can't be undone, which allows you to control me in whatever way you want, and you forced me to summon Odin! Why _wouldn't_ I try to fight it?"

"You willingly accepted the pact; it's your own fault for trusting an enemy. Of course I would have a trick or two up my sleeve, only a fool would think otherwise!" he snapped at her. "But I did not lie to you, this bond will help you control your powers, and it will make both of us stronger. Brahne would've summoned Odin anyway, whether I'd commanded you or not did not matter."

"And yet you did…while I asked you not to. I cannot form a bond with someone I don't trust. Why did you make a pact with me in the first place? Because _you_ want to become stronger?" she asked him.

He smirked. "Because you seem interesting."

She groaned in return. "I'm going back to the cabin we were in earlier to rest; you're giving me a headache…"

"We'll be arriving at Alexandria soon…you don't want to miss Garnet's execution, do you?" Kuja mused. The response he gained was a fireball that was thrown at him, though he avoided it before it hit him.

"Don't move another step away from me", Kuja snapped. She instantly stopped moving when hearing those words and the tone in his voice. "Attack me again and I will not let you get away with it so easily, do you understand?"

"You asked me a question, I felt obliged to answer you that way", Mizuki mused calmly.

"Don't do it again", he sneered, and then followed her into the cabin.

"Fine, I won't do it again", she responded. "Now will you stop following me around? I want to rest…"

"And I want to make sure you're not planning on doing anything stupid, like attempting to break the pact", he retorted.

"I might be easily tricked but I don't have a death wish…" Mizuki responded truthfully. "But if you force me into summoning another Eidolon to destroy cities, I won't hesitate in throwing fireballs at you anymore…"

* * *

After they'd warped to Alexandria, the first thing they saw was Steiner, throwing a tantrum over the princess. A short conversation later left them running, and soon after they ended up in the queen's room.

"Where could she be..?" Zidane wondered.

"I wonder if Mizuki's okay…" Rokna muttered. Thanks to her, they were able to get away without wasting too much time, but it made her feel awful that they had to leave the girl behind.

"You met her in Cleyra earlier, didn't you? If they went ahead and took her before they attacked the city, I doubt they want her dead. She'll be fine", Freya said calmly.

Rokna nodded. "I guess you're right, but…I'm worried about her."

"You met Miss Mizuki in Cleyra? She was supposed to come after us to Alexandria…how did she ever get to Cleyra?" Steiner wondered. "And why didn't she come with you?"

Rokna let out a sigh, and remembered what she saw on the Red Rose, and what the man named Rikazu had said to her earlier. "Listen… I think she was the one who destroyed Cleyra using Odin…"

"That is a horrible accusation, Miss Rokna", Steiner said. "What makes you think this?"

"I saw her holding a staff, next to the queen. After Odin disappeared, she collapsed…" In the game, it was supposed to be queen Brahne using a gemstone to summon Odin, but somehow Rokna had a feeling that the gemstone hadn't been used, and that the girl herself summoned it with just the conjuration spell. The words Rikazu had said to her wouldn't leave her…was it already too late to save the girl from Kuja's grasp? She had to become stronger.

"But why would she do that She seemed like a kind person when she tried to help us just now…" Vivi muttered, adjusting his hat.

"I don't think she wanted to do it…she was probably forced into it by that redhead we met, or maybe Kuja…" Rokna said softly. "We should've brought her with us."

"Can't this wait until after we've rescued Dagger?" Zidane asked. "She'll be executed once the Red Rose arrives… we don't have much time."

Rokna nodded. "You're right, I'm sorry." She then walked to one of the candles and moved it, revealing a staircase where the fireplace was.

"How did you…?" Zidane wondered. "Oh never mind already, let's go!"

They made their way down the stairs, and once there they ran into Zorn and Thorn. The two court jesters spared each other confused glances before making their way to the party.

"What are you doing here?!" Zorn asked. Thorn jumped up. "So meddlesome, you are. Mercy no more!"

* * *

The sleep didn't come to her as easily as she'd hoped, especially with the airship getting ready to land and Kuja still watching her every movement. Eventually she decided to just sit up straight and wait until they'd arrived at Alexandria. She hoped that they'd already rescued Dagger by now, though she knew it would be a close call due to the two jesters slowing them down. The worry was growing on her, knowing a lot had already changed due to her own appearance on Gaia. Not to mention Rikazu was coming after them too. Kuja's voice pulled her out of her thoughts. "Worried about the princess? We've landed." Mizuki sighed as she followed him outside.

"Shut up, you wouldn't understand such emotions anyway", she snapped in return. "They'll save her…I believe in them."

"Sometimes I forget you already know what's supposed to happen…perhaps I should lend Beatrix a hand, then…she just left with the two jesters because they were defeated", Kuja mentioned.

"Don't you have somewhere else to be, Kuja?" she snapped. "And you already sent Rikazu after them, too."

"For your own sake, I'd suggest you learn who to ally with. If they were your allies, they would've taken you along with them the moment they had a chance to on the Red Rose", Kuja retorted calmly. "They probably hate you by now, anyway. They saw you on the Red Rose with your staff, so I'm sure at least one of them must assume you summoned Odin."

"You're lying", Mizuki responded. "If you're trying to manipulate me into believing you, you might as well give up now."

"That blonde girl saw us", he said, still as calm as before. "She's probably told her friends by now."

Mizuki conjured up her staff. "I've had enough of your lies", she hissed. "I'll fight you here and now, and gain back my freedom."

"If you think you can win, you're delusional. Your magic is still drained from summoning Odin, you can never win", he responded. "But, if you insist…I'll break the pact with you if you win, but if you lose…"

"You told me the pact couldn't be broken", Mizuki said. "Was that just another lie?"

"_You_ can't break it, but as the one who sealed the pact with you, I _can_", Kuja answered.

She tightened the grip on her staff. "Very well…and what if I lose?"

A smirk formed across his lips. "_You're mine, _without disobeying _any_ of my orders._"_

* * *

**Author's notes: I couldn't decide whether to cut off my chapter here, or continue until after their little 'showdown', but I'm terrible with battle scenes. (hence why I skipped so many so far). I'll try next chapter though. :) As always, reviews are lovely and _constructive_ feedback is very welcome. 3**


	8. Ch8 Bonds

**Author's notes: Well, that was a fun chapter to write. :3 I had so many ideas flowing, but it would be too much to push all of them into one chapter. xD The battle is not completely...spectacular, but I tried at least. xD that's a start, right? :) As always, enjoy.  
**

* * *

_**The bonds that tie one together to another.  
**_

"_Words are a pretext. It is the inner bond that draws one person to another, not words."_

She stepped back, the grip on her staff still tightened. She was no match for his powers, she knew that. Challenging him to a fight was crazy, if not suicidal, but she had to do it.

"Those terms are kind of ridiculous, considering I already don't have a choice", she eventually responded. He chuckled. "Well, it's the only useful thing you could possibly give me right now."

A small ball of fire appeared at the tip of her staff, and she stared at it with a slightly confused look on her face. "I'm pretty sure I tried using a firaga spell there…not a tiny fireball…"

"I told you, your magic is still drained from summoning Odin, you can't defeat me", Kuja said with a smirk.

"Shut up", Mizuki retorted, as her ball of fire made its way to him. Upon reaching contact, it exploded, blowing Mizuki a few steps back as well. When the smoke faded, all she saw was him blowing dust off his clothes. "Is that all you've got? That didn't even tickle", he said. "I'll show you how a real firaga is done." He then pointed his hand towards her and Mizuki stepped back carefully. Glancing up to Kuja and meeting his now amused gaze, Mizuki hissed and back flipped her way out of what she thought was his reach. In mid-movement she pushed her hands forwards to generate a fierce wind that blew the man back a few steps. Landing firmly on both feet, she conjured up her staff again. She sent a few more fire spells into his direction, all of which seemed to reach their target.

"Did I get him..?" she muttered, looking into his direction. And that was when she started feeling the static air around her. By the time she'd looked up, it was already too late; the thundaga spell sent a jolt through her entire body and she fell to her knees while attempting to gasp for oxygen.

"Enough, you know that the outcome of this battle is inevitable", he said as he walked up to her. Mizuki clenched her teeth as she stubbornly pushed herself back to her feet, even though she felt like collapsing. She straightened her back and tried to ignore the stinging pain all over her body.

"I can…still fight…" she breathed, her defiant attitude not yet broken.

"You're going to get yourself killed", he retorted. She could barely move; standing up straight took most of her power already, he could tell. But she wasn't going to learn, not unless she had experienced complete defeat, and complete defeat he would give her. She would then realize just how powerful he was, and possibly even reconsider who to ally with. A holy spell pulled him out of his thoughts as he was knocked back the moment the spell connected. When he looked at Mizuki, he noticed the light blue glow around her body; she had entered trance. The wounds from the thundaga spell nearly weren't visible anymore, as if she'd managed to heal them all. She had been readying another holy spell, and he decided it had been enough. His hand moved to her direction once more. It was only a matter of seconds before the spell took its effect and countless of huge flares started to surround the girl before crashing in on her. The flare star had knocked her into the air, and she landed back onto the cold stone ground with a loud thud, her body now lifeless on the floor. The glow around her faded and all she could see was a blur. The last thing she could vaguely see was him walking up to her, but then she blacked out.

* * *

_Her voice was soothing as she sang along with the birds in the trees. She didn't stop singing, until a younger, blue haired girl ran up to her. _

_"Miki, my dear, are you done studying for today already?" she smiled at the young girl. It was a warm and kind smile, a mother's smile._

_"Yes mom!" the girl responded happily. She then remembered the question she wanted to ask her mother. "Mom, what is a mage pact?"_

_Her mother's eyes widened. "Where did you learn about that, sweetie?"_

_"There was a silver-haired man in the library when I was studying! He said something about it!" she looked at her mother curiously, waiting for her to answer the question. The woman patted her daughter's head. "A mage pact is a very special thing for us. Maybe it's about time I tell you about it, since you'll make one too in a few years from now."_

_They sat down against the tree's trunk, and her mother looked at her daughter. "Those in our family, the Hikari family, were cursed with power over five centuries ago", she started explaining. "Without a strong mind, someone can't control a large amount of magic, so our family line doesn't have many survivors."_

_"Why would someone curse us, mom?" the girl asked. _

_"We don't know, sweetie", her mother answered. "Those of us who do survive form a pact with another strong mage, one from a noble family. Our magic merges together, and it will prevent our own powers from going out of control. These pacts can only be formed once though, and it requires a strong bond with the mage you make a pact with, else it won't work."_

_"Do you and dad have a pact together?" the girl wondered out loud. Her mother chuckled. "Yes dear, we do. It's very common for us to make pacts with our soul mates, because you will always have a strong bond with that person."_

_"But then what happens if you make a pact with the wrong person, mom?" the girl asked. _

_"In our history, no one has ever made a pact with the wrong person. The important part is to trust the one you've made a pact with. Without trust, your bond won't grow, do you understand sweetie?"_

* * *

He watched her as she was lying down in the bed, waiting for her to finally wake up. Every once in a while she'd stir in the bed, but not once had she opened her eyes yet. It had been a few hours since their little battle, and they were in one of the rooms of the Alexandria castle.

Finally, she stirred again, and this time she opened her eyes. Taking in her surroundings, she flinched when she saw Kuja, and quickly closed her eyes again.

"I know you're awake…" he mused, and waited until she opened her eyes again.

"Go away, I don't want to talk to you", she hissed, turning around in the bed. Surprisingly enough, her body only barely hurt from the attacks she'd endured. Healing magic was truly amazing.

"You showed quite some power back there, you know?" he continued.

"Yeah? Well it wasn't enough to beat you now was it?" Mizuki groaned, pulling her covers over her head, muffling all sound that came out next. He pulled the covers away from her. "That's quite enough, girl. We'll be headed out soon, so get ready."

"How long was I asleep?" she wondered, finally getting up with a groan. She wanted to go back to sleep; the dream she had wouldn't leave her thoughts, but she could not recall the events.

"A while", he answered. "The queen already left for Lindblum…it shouldn't be long now."

Mizuki looked at him. "Already? Have you been watching over me here all this time?" The woman in her dreams, her mother, told her to trust the mage she'd make a pact with, and that in the family history, no one had ever made a pact with the wrong person…but how could she trust a man who manipulates someone into murdering innocent people? Then, another question popped into her mind. "Say…what happened to everyone? Are they safe?"

"Your so-called allies left you behind, girl. They didn't even try to come looking for you", Kuja responded calmly. "And before you throw another tantrum and telling me I'm a liar, ask yourself this; what can I possibly gain out of lying to you? I already control you and your magic."

She bit her lip. He was correct; he didn't have to manipulate her into getting along with him to use her powers, he was already capable of doing that. It didn't seem like she was going to get away anytime soon, so trusting her mother's words was the only thing she could do for now.

"So what's the plan now? You said we'll be headed out soon, where are we going?" she finally asked.

"We'll be traveling to the Outer Continent, there is something I need to take care of when we're there", Kuja answered.

* * *

"Pfew…I can't believe we made it", Rokna muttered. "Is everyone alright?"

"Where are we?" Dagger asked.

"We're at Pinnacle Rocks…it's supposed to be near Lindblum Castle…" Vivi answered.

"Pinnacle Rocks..? Lindblum? The gargant took us this far? Where's Freya? Steiner? And Beatrix? And…Zidane?"

"Zidane went to check the area", Vivi said, adjusting his hat a little.

"Dagger, Rokna! You're both awake!" He jumped to where they were, and smiled. "Are you feeling alright, Dagger?"

"Where is everyone, Zidane?" Dagger asked worriedly.

Zidane shook his head. "I don't know…we're really far from Alexandria." Seeing her worried expression, he continued. "But hey, don't worry! The Tantalus guys are with them, too. It's almost nightfall. They're probably in Treno by now."

"I wonder how Mizuki is doing…we ended up never having a chance to look for her…" Rokna muttered. She didn't know why she was so worried about the girl, but they were both not from Gaia; that had to mean something.

"Don't worry, I'm sure she's fine too… Steiner looked up to her, so she must've been a powerful mage!" Zidane said with a smile.

"Hey guys, do you think we could borrow an airship in Lindblum? Treno is only steps away if we can make it to South Gate", Dagger wondered. Zidane nodded "Yeah…"

It was then that they noticed the floating old man that appeared in front of them. Zidane jumped back and held his arm in front of Dagger protectively. "Are you our enemy?"

"That is up to you…my name is Ramuh", the old man spoke. A feeling of familiarity rang through Rokna…she'd seen him in the game before, she knew that much, but there was something else that she couldn't place.

"I've read your name in a book about summoning magic before…you must be Ramuh, the Thunder God", Dagger said. The man nodded. "Do you know that your summon magic destroyed Cleyra? An Eidolon follows its summoner's orders. It responded to a girl not much older than you this time…"

"So it was Mizuki who did it after all…" Rokna muttered.

"No…I can't believe it…I was confined while Cleyra was destroyed…" Dagger stared to the ground.

"It wasn't your fault Dagger. They knew, that's why they stayed behind", Zidane said in an attempt to cheer her up.

"Everyone…" Dagger said softly.

"True… you were not the one who caused the destruction. But I must ask you, what will you do now?" Ramuh wondered.

"If I were more powerful…if I could use summoning magic… I beg of you, please help me!" Dagger pleaded to the man.

"And cause more destruction?" he retorted. Dagger shook her head. "No! I was afraid of my summoning magic, but not anymore!"

Ramuh's appearance then changed, and he held a large staff in his hand. "Many years have passed since I last served a master…I must test you to see whether you are truly fit to be my master. I will hide five manifestations of myself in this forest. Each one will carry a piece of the 'Hero's Story'. Collect all five pieces and tell me the story. If you put together the story to my satisfaction, I will become your Eidolon." He then disappeared, and Dagger smiled apologetically to her friends. "I'm sorry… I know we must hurry."

"It's okay, Dagger", Zidane said. Rokna nodded. "Yeah! Don't worry about it, and let's finish his test."

Vivi smiled. "I'll help you too!"

"Thanks you guys…" Dagger murmured.

* * *

She could not believe her eyes when he brought her to see his silver dragon. It was the most magnificent beast she'd ever seen. Not that, that said much, considering dragon's didn't exist on the Earth anymore.

"She usually doesn't like company, other than myself", Kuja said calmly as he saw Mizuki walk to the dragon. The dragon looked at her warily, but behaved as her master was around.

"She's amazing", Mizuki said softly, and the words seemed to calm the dragon slightly. "We're riding on her to the Outer Continent?" The idea scared her; ever since she was a little kid, she had been afraid of heights, and flying on the back of a dragon did nothing to calm her even slightly.

"Indeed we are", Kuja answered.

* * *

"Let me ask you one thing…how come you chose 'Human' as the conclusion for the story?" Ramuh asked. They'd found all the pieces to the story and had put it together for Ramuh to read it.

"People follow a person who keeps on track. That's why I think a hero who acts in a straightforward manner is remembered for generations", Dagger explained. Ramuh shook his head. "…I want to know what you think, in your _own_ words."

"Me…? I am away from my country, but I haven't forgotten about my people…" Dagger said.

"Your soul is very tense right now. Maybe you'll begin to relax once I become your Eidolon", Ramuh said.

"Thank you!" Dagger responded happily.

"There are many paths. Remember that you alone decide the path on which you walk", Ramuh said, and then disappeared, leaving nothing but a peridot in Dagger's hands.

"You did it Dagger", Rokna said with a smile. Dagger nodded. "Let's go to Lindblum!"

Dagger ran on ahead, and Rokna turned to look at Zidane. "You coming?"

"Hey, old man! Are you gone already?!" Zidane suddenly yelled. Vivi jumped back a little. "What's wrong?"

"I wanted to know why he made Dagger play such a silly game. Heroic? Human? Those are just things people say after the fact. Why try to give meaning to what the main characters in the story chose?" Zidane wondered.

"I think the old man would've become her Eidolon either way…that's the impression I got, anyway", Vivi said.

"Zidane, Vivi, Rokna! Let's go!" Dagger's voice sounded not far from them.

"You're exactly right…It's not what the people say afterward…What's important is being true to oneself. She may not have realized it, but when she wished to use summoning magic, the summon power returned to her…Summon magic can be used for both good and evil, she is still young, but there is room for growth….so I chose her as my master. I'll be watching over her… I hope you three will also protect her", Ramuh's voice sounded.

They all responded at once, of course, none of them would abandon their friend. Vivi and Zidane ran on ahead, and even though Rokna was planning on doing the same, Ramuh's voice called her back.

"Miss Rokna?"

"Huh, Ramuh? What's up?" Rokna wondered out loud.

"Your powers, too, will awaken soon", his voice faded again, leaving Rokna confused. **_What powers?_**

* * *

She really did believe she was going to fall off. Kuja and Mizuki were soaring through the sky on the back of the silver dragon. She had been trying to hold onto the dragon for a while now, but all her attempts so far had failed completely, and the speed at which the dragon was flying almost made her fall off. Actually, if it wasn't for Kuja grabbing her by her wrist, she probably would've fallen by now, she figured.

"Just hold onto me", he sighed eventually, noticing how she kept struggling to hold onto something.

Her face reddened. "You're joking, _right_? I'm fine…"

"Are you scared of heights?" he chuckled. "You're a bad liar, girl."

Another gust of wind almost blew her off the dragon again. She yelped, hanging onto his arm as much as she could. "Do you really want to tear my arm off?" he asked. The blush on her face increased and she let go of his arm, instead wrapping her own arms around his waist. "Sorry…"

The gusts kept coming, and her grip around his waist tightened out of fear to fall off.

"Remember, I do need oxygen too, girl", he said. She immediately pulled back. "I…uh… I'm sorry!" she stuttered.

He chuckled. "You really _are_ afraid of heights, huh?" He then pulled her back to him and sat her down in front of him while holding her. "There, now you don't have to worry about falling off." She could no longer hide her blush, and she attempted to look away from him. "That was unnecessary", she whispered. Her mother's words ringed through her mind. _'The important part is to trust the one you made a pact with.'_ Trust…was she capable of something like that? With him, of all people?

* * *

**Author's notes: Well, that's it for this chapter again. I hope I'm not making things move too fast though... xD Anyway, reviews and feedback are still very loved. Thanks to everyone who's been reviewing. :3**


	9. Ch9

**Author's notes: Hurray, it's another chapter! That only took...forever. When I have the time, I'll be making some changes to the previous chapters.. but for now, enjoy. :P  
**

**Reuploaded this chapter to make some dialogue changes (thanks Alexandria Volturi, some dialogue indeed didn't make sense xD).**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own anything, except for my own OCs. **

* * *

_**Chapter 9**_

"_The things that cannot be seen in the light can properly be seen in the depths of darkness."_

She was unable to relax; no matter how hard she tried. The idea of flying on the back of a dragon, with Kuja sitting right behind her while holding his arm firmly around her, did nothing to calm her down. She could only hope they would arrive soon, wherever it was that they were going. He could notice her irregular breathing as he held her, and he let out a sigh. "Why don't you try and rest for a bit? There's still time before we arrive."

"Arrive where, exactly?" she asked.

"The Outer Continent, I told you, didn't I?" he answered. "It's a place you'll most likely find very interesting."

She let out a sigh, but then let her head rest on his chest. She hated to admit it, but the fatigue was still pulling at her. Her mind had been racing with thoughts. Back at home, she'd often dreamt about ending up in this game's world, about how she would interact with characters if she were to meet them. Kuja used to be one of her favourite characters, despite being evil. She'd always felt that there was something behind his evil demeanour, that he wasn't evil because he chose to be. Ever since she ended up actually being in this world, things had changed, she was actually able to interact with these characters now, but everything seemed so real, and memories kept flowing through her even though she never realized she had them.

"We'll head for Madain Sari first, then we can move on to the Iifa Tree after", Kuja spoke, but gained no response. "Are you listening?"

The response came in a whisper, though not one he expected. _"I'll trust you…"_ Her breathing had finally calmed as she fell asleep in his arms.

* * *

"We're here". The dragon had landed just outside of the small village that was once home to the great summoner tribe. These days, however, the village had become more of a ghost town, as no one lived there anymore since the storm that raged through it 10 years ago.

Mizuki opened her eyes, blinking a few times. "Huh?" she muttered. "Madain Sari? The summoner tribe's village?" she was surprised that he'd bring her there.

"Not that any of them are left in the village, but yes", he responded.

"Then why are we here?" she wondered.

"So that you, miss Avanquilist, can learn about your heritage", he answered calmly.

"You'd do that for me? How unlike you", she said with a smirk. "What's the catch?"

"No catch, just, you know…bonding, gaining your trust so I can kill you in your sleep", the last comment only earned him a glare from the blue haired girl. "Relax, I have no intention of doing that."

"Are you sure? You strike me as someone who would actually do that", she retorted.

"Let's just go", he said with a sigh, and she nodded.

The place really did look as if a storm had raged through, but Mizuki knew better than that. It had been the Invincible that had attacked the village that day.

"So, where are we headed?" she asked.

"Go ahead and explore, the faint memories that you have will lead the way. I would suggest the Eidolon Wall though", Kuja responded.

"The Eidolon Wall? Maybe you're right… I'll check it out", she said with a smile, then made her way off. She did want to learn about her heritage; what is the Avanquilist, why was she one and did she actually come from Gaia to begin with? At first she thought the latter wasn't possible, but she had memories of events from when she was a kid that couldn't have happened on Earth. But then why did the Earth have a game of this world, and the events happening in it? And why were so many of the events happening now that she was in this world. It made no sense.

She came to a halt when she neared the Eidolon Wall, there was a possibility that Eiko was in the village. She could only hope that the little girl was at Conde Petie for the time being. The moogles weren't around either, though it was quite possible that they were just hidden somewhere.

The Eidolon Wall held the most amazing drawings she had ever seen. Every Eidolon that had ever been discovered by the summoner tribe was shown there. There were scribbles among some of the drawings, but there was one scribble in particular that caught her interest.

"_To my beloved daughter: one day your powers will awaken, and you will realize that you truly are the Avanquilist's guardian. I can only pray that you and your sister will stay together forever. Love, Melody", _she read out loud, only to notice footsteps behind her right after.

"What are you doing here? Who are you?" she had expected a female voice, coming from the young female summoner that would later join Zidane's party. To her surprise, the voice belonged to a young man instead.

"I could ask you the same question", she retorted, raising an eyebrow to the man in front of her.

"I live here, you don't. That makes you the outsider. I will ask you one more time, who are you, and what are you doing here?"

She stared at him for a moment; no one, except for Eiko, was supposed to be living in Madain Sari. _Another change compared to the original story_, she thought.

"My name is Mizuki", she said, but then hesitated before continuing. "I'm…here to find out about my heritage."

"Your heritage?" the young man responded, the suspicion in his voice audible.

"People have been calling me 'the Avanquilist', I came here to find out what that means", she said, but took a step back when he took out an axe, holding it with one hand easily.

"The late Avanquilist died in the storm 10 years ago. I don't know who you are, but it's about time that you'd leave", he threatened.

"Wait… I didn't come here to pick a fight. I'm telling you the truth!" she responded. "Even if I want to leave… I can't, not yet…" she muttered after that.

* * *

"Now what do we have here?", Kuja was watching the two from a distance. There was something off about the young man, something he couldn't place. All he could tell was that he didn't appear to have a lot of patience, as he attacked Mizuki almost right away. It all became clear when the latter conjured up her staff to retaliate, though. Her magic appeared to have little to no effect at all; she was still tired and magic was all she had. She would be in trouble.

* * *

"Please, stop! I don't want to fight you!" she dodged another one of his attacks, but she was tired, and her magic appeared to have no effect on him. Another swing of his axe made her fall backwards in an attempt to avoid the hit, and she landed on her butt with a loud thud.

"I know you arrived here with that other man. I watched that silver dragon fly from far. I'll ask you one last time, what are you really doing here?" he snapped at her.

She wasn't sure what to answer, she couldn't get this man to trust her. Why would he, anyway? He was probably just trying to protect Eiko. They did look suspicious, and anyone who trusted Kuja would be a fool. _She_ was a fool, she knew that, too.

"I'm telling you, I just want to learn about my heritage!" she tried explaining once more, but it was no use. He didn't believe her. All summoners were supposed to have been wiped out in that storm. He raised his axe at her and swung it, and although she managed to avoid most of the impact from the hit, it still scraped her leg and sent a jolt of pain through her body.

"The next hit won't miss", he sneered, lifting up his axe again.

She bit her lip, knowing she was going to regret what she was about to do. "Kuja?!" Having to call out for help to the man who forced her to summon Odin back in Cleyra was not something she put on her to-do list, but she had no choice.

Not even a few seconds after she'd called out to him, a flare exploded in the young man's face, the impact blowing dust everywhere and he was blown backwards. When the dust cleared, Kuja was standing in front of her. "You overdid it…" she muttered.

"You're the one who called for help", he retorted, a sly grin on his face. What surprised the both of them was that the young man jumped back on his feet, seemingly unscathed from the flare.

Mizuki looked at Kuja, who seemed just as surprised as her. "Even your magic has no effect on him?" she breathed. She couldn't believe it, the flare had made a full impact on him, she was sure of it.

"That wasn't very nice", the man sneered.

"Well, I can't have you harm my little pet, now can I?" Kuja retorted. "Now, who are you, to have such a high resistance to magic?"

The man glared at him for a moment, before answering. "My name is Vince, son to Alistair and Morgane, the last king and queen of the Regae tribe."

Kuja's eyes narrowed. _So it was him, after all… _"A Regae, huh? You don't see many of those around these days", he responded. "And yet, even though you're a Regae, you weren't able to fully negate my attack. So, you're going to let us pass now, because I can and will kill you if you don't."

"Kuja, that's enough!" Mizuki hissed. "Nobody needs to get hurt."

"Don't talk to me like that", he sneered back at the girl. "You do as I say, and just stay out of this."

His sudden response startled her and she bit her lip again.

"I can stop you, you know", Vince suddenly spoke. "You caught me off guard once, but your magic won't have any effect on me."

"I will not fight you today. This short road trip was purely meant for my little pet to learn more about her heritage", Kuja said. "We'll meet again." With that, he lifted Mizuki into his arms and walked past Vince.

Vince turned around, his eyes widening. "Wait a second…it's starting to come back now…" he breathed. "I remember you…both of you. Six months before the storm happened… you arrived in Madain Sari…you were the one teaching her magic, weren't you?"

Kuja turned around to glare at the young man. "And you were her bratty little friend, yes."

"Miss Hikari never trusted you, I remember. She told my mother that she thought you were planning on using that girl's powers for your own means."

"She should've trusted her instincts", Kuja said with a smirk. "Not that she'd be able to stop me, anyway." After saying that, he continued walking, and much to Mizuki's surprise, Vince didn't try to stop them.

* * *

"What was that all about? Regae tribe? You teaching me magic? None of this makes any sense…" Mizuki muttered. "Even back then, you were already planning on using my powers?"

"I learned that the summoner tribe held great powers many years ago, as I was ordered to destroy the tribe", Kuja mentioned. "I became curious of this power that _he_ so feared, so I decided to look around before I destroyed the city. That is when I met you."

Mizuki kept her eyes locked on him, but didn't say a word while he was recalling the events of that time. She was curious about what had happened, but at the same time was afraid to learn the truth. Did she truly come from Madain Sari? Were all the memories she had made at Earth just fakes?

"I learned of the pact that the Hikari family makes with other mages when I was browsing through the books in the library", he continued. "When the time came, I was going to take you with me before taking out the summoner tribe, but your mother grew wary of me, and somehow took you away from this place before my plans could succeed."

"Take me with you? To use that same extraction spell on me as you did on Garnet?" the words came out in a whisper, as if she was afraid to ask him.

"The Avanquilist is immune to that spell", he said calmly. "Not to mention I already had your trust; all I needed to do was take you away from Madain Sari."

"How did you know it was me?" Mizuki asked as she narrowed her eyes at him. "How did you find me again, after all this time?"

"Do you think I wouldn't remember you?" he mused back at her. "You're still the same person…though in the time I spent looking for you, you've grown into a strong and beautiful young woman."

"What are you…" she breathed, her face flushing a bright red.

He looked at her and chuckled. "You don't have to be that embarrassed."

"I-I'm not!" she responded as she averted her gaze. It was awkward to her, being held by someone like this, being held by _him_ like this.

* * *

When they made it back to his dragon, Mizuki finally looked at him again. "So…where are we headed now?" she asked.

"We'll rest in Conde Petie for the night, then we'll head for the Iifa Tree by morning", Kuja answered calmly as he put her on the dragon's back and climbed on behind her. They took off in the direction of Conde Petie soon after.

"Iifa…?" her eyes widened. "Bahamut…" she then breathed, earning a glare from the man holding her. "You really do know too much for your own good."

"And yet I still barely know anything about why I'm in this world", she muttered in response.

"I gave you a purpose, my pet. You'll help me and in return I'll keep you safe", he said.

"I'm not your pet, Kuja", she said with a sigh. "And you didn't give me a purpose, you forced it on me."

"But that's not really how you see it, is it? You enjoy the thrill of being on my side, the idea of having someone powerful to protect you when you need it, like when you were up against that man just now", Kuja mused. "You enjoy having an important role in this play."

"I would've rather stayed with Zidane", Mizuki snapped.

"Who are you trying to convince? Me, or yourself?" Kuja wondered. "You don't hate me anymore, do you? Not like they do, at least."

"Hating you is pointless. If I'm stuck with you either way, I may as well make the best out of it", she responded.

He pulled her closer, making her flinch slightly. "Why can't you be more honest with yourself? It's alright to enjoy this…what do you call it, an adventure?"

She shook her head. "No, it's not alright…if I admit that I enjoy being on a trip with you, a trip like this…then what does that say about me? I don't want to take a step on that road…"

"You just did", he said as he smirked at her.

"Shut up", she snapped as a slight blush crept on her face. She hated the fact that she was starting to enjoy this journey. It wasn't right, especially not with him as company. But then why was he able to make her heart beat faster, and why wasn't she able to pull away from him?

* * *

When they arrived at Conde Petie, Kuja healed the wound on Mizuki's leg. It still amazed her how fast healing magic worked.

"So this is the village of the dwarves, huh?" Mizuki mused as they made their way to the entrance. At the entrance there were a couple of dwarves, doing the greeting Mizuki had laughed about many times when she was playing the game.

"Rally-ho!" one of them said. Two more rally-ho's soon followed.

Mizuki glared over to Kuja before looking back at the dwarves. "Rally-ho!" she then said cheerfully in an attempt to appeal to the dwarves.

Kuja glared back at her. "I will not say that", he mused at her.

"You will if you want to enter the village", she mused back.

"Rally-ho's oor sacred greetin'! If ye dinnae say Rally-Ho, then ye cannae enter Conde Petie, hametoon o' the dwarves!" the dwarf in front of them mentioned.

"Who do these lowly goblins think they are, to make me say their 'rally-ho's?", Kuja mentioned to Mizuki, to which the latter chuckled.

"Rally-ho! You can pass!" the dwarf then said. Apparently just _mentioning_ rally-ho was enough to them.

"Don't _ever_ mention this to anyone", Kuja said as he glared at the girl next to him again. "Now why don't you go find us a room? I'll find us a meal, you must be hungry by now."

A couple of rally-ho's and attempted dwarf-language later, Mizuki found herself at the window in a room at Conde Petie's 'inn'. The room had a clear view on the fields outside, something that she'd always enjoyed to watch. She wondered how her friends were doing; it wouldn't be long until they'd made their way through Fossil Roo and would end up in Conde Petie as well, though she and Kuja would likely already be gone by then. But there was a small chance, just a tiny chance that she'd run into her friends before they would leave for the Iifa Tree.

It was starting to get dark by now, and the sight as she looked out of the window reminded her of a song. At first, she softly started humming, trying to fully remember the lyrics to the song. Then she started singing, first quietly, but then more audible as she sang.

_We're in a world where there's nothing as it seems.  
A breathless sight; it feels like a dream.  
All I can see are the memories underneath,  
round and round, up and down. Let's just keep on spinning._

_The blazing lights all pass me, rushing inside,  
a moving sight before me, thundering.  
So listen to the rhythm of the ocean, skies above us glowing,  
all the colors were drowning me in wonder._

_The world comes in black and white, but with you here right by my side,  
nothing to fear in this night, and I'll hold you close, burning bright.  
Once upon a time in my life, love flowed endlessly,  
you were on my mind when we both lived and died._

She hadn't realized Kuja had entered the room until she noticed the tray of food in the corner of her eye. She instantly stopped singing and turned around, looking straight into his eyes. A smile formed across his lips as he looked back at her, noticing the blush that had once again crept on her face.

"Don't stop just because I'm here", he said calmly. "Go on, you sing well."

She turned back around, not wanting to face him; she'd never sang in front of anyone, as she always figured she was a terrible singer, and she closed her eyes as she continued.

_We're in a world where there's only you and me  
a touch, a while. we've got to believe.  
The hands of fate couldn't stop us from our wings,  
Let us fly, break the sky. When I fall, just catch me._

_The stars are truly showing something tonight,  
these everlasting feelings brightly highlight that.  
There's no such limit and we're always gonna be here,  
all your colors are drowning me, excite me._

Once she stopped singing and opened her eyes, she noticed him standing next to her.

"If I were to remove that spell on you, the one that forces you to obey, what would you do?" he suddenly asked.

She looked at him, her eyes widening. She'd never given it any thought, as she not once thought he'd remove it willingly.

"What…would I do?" she breathed, trying to process the thought in her mind. "I…If a mage pact truly is an everlasting bond between two people…if that spell is gone then…I would have no reason to distrust you…perhaps you and I…" at that point she'd averted her gaze to the ground and her heart started beating faster. _What am I saying? He and I? I don't like him…do I?_

He pressed his hand on her cheek, once again startling her. "W-what are you…?" before she could finish her line, he'd leaned in and gently pressed his lips onto hers. When he pulled away, he chuckled at the sight of her blushing once again.

"It's alright", he said in an attempt to calm her.

_Just breaking the spell, huh…_ The blush on her face did not fade, nor did her heart start beating any slower. "I…I'm going to get some rest now!" she breathed as she made her way to her bed. He didn't respond and walked over to another bed instead, which calmed her nerves slightly. _Just like this…_ she thought. _If only things could stay just like this…then perhaps being with him wouldn't be so bad after all…_ She knew by then, she was falling for him.

She really should've eaten something before rushing off to 'sleep'. Mizuki woke up to a growling stomach, and the food that Kuja had left for her the night before did not seem as tasty as it likely was before. She got up with a sigh, only to realize said silver haired man was nowhere to be seen.

She couldn't imagine him having left her behind; he sought out power, and hers apparently mattered to him. As she left the room, she noticed voices coming from the end of the hallway.

"I'm telling you, they're not here", the first voice said, it was a male voice, one that sounded familiar to Mizuki.

"Oh yeah? Aren't you friends with Kuja? Last time we saw you in Fossil Roo, you said you were looking for him because 'the idiot left without you', remember?" the second voice belonged to a woman, but was familiar to her as well.

She made her way to the end of the hallway, wondering if it was really possible that her friends had already caught up to her.

"We want our friend back, Rikazu", the female voice snapped. As Mizuki got closer, she realized it was Rokna's voice. Right as she wanted to move around the corner to greet her friend, she felt someone wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her back. She yelped, but he quickly covered her mouth with his hand.

"Shh", he whispered in her ear before moving his hand away from her mouth.

"Let go of me Kuja, I want to greet my friends", she whispered back at him, and then attempted to pull his arm away from her waist. He instead grabbed her by her wrist and pulled her back into their room. Once he closed the door, he let go of her.

"Didn't you remove that spell so I would be free to do what I wanted?" she hissed at him.

He chuckled. "Free? Oh no, little pet. I have no intention of letting you go."

Her eyes widened. She'd strongly believed the night before that he'd removed the spell he put on her. But he hadn't, it had been a lie. She'd never truly be free.

"…Fine", she sighed in defeat. There was no way she could win the battle of wills against this man, not while she was still confused about her feelings for him, and definitely not with that spell.

"Good. Now that that's settled, I've come across a problem. You see, my dragon decided to fly ahead near the other exit to Conde Petie. But these stupid dwarves won't let us pass unless we participate in some kind of ceremony", Kuja said.

Mizuki's eyes widened. "Please tell me you're not actually considering that…"

"I told that lowly goblin that you'd be ready in about an hour from now", he responded calmly.

"…I _hate_ you."

* * *

**A/N: Next chapter I'll write a flashback on what happened to Zidane & co on their way to the Outer Continent, if I stop being lazy. :3 Review if you feel like it. :)**


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